Global perceptions of lung cancer

A quantitative survey by Ipsos MORI across sixteen different countries to measure perceptions of which cancers kill the greatest number of people in their country, and attitudes towards lung cancer.

5 July 2010

The Global Lung Cancer Coalition commissioned Ipsos MORI to conduct a quantitative survey across sixteen different countries to measure perceptions of which cancers kill the greatest number of people in their country, and attitudes towards lung cancer. The survey took place in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, Norway, Spain, Denmark, Switzerland, Slovenia, Sweden, the Netherlands, and the USA.

Key findings:

In all the countries surveyed, the majority reject the idea that they are less sympathetic for people with lung cancer, despite its link to smoking.

However, there is variation between countries in the level of sympathy towards those with lung cancer. Australians (29%) and Brazilians (28%) are the least sympathetic nations. In comparison, only ten percent of adults in Argentina have less sympathy towards those with lung cancer given its link to smoking, the lowest of all the countries surveyed.

In most countries surveyed, people believe lung cancer is the cancer which kills the greatest number of people; however there is some variation between countries.

Of the sixteen countries surveyed, people in Japan and Norway are most likely to believe that lung cancer is the biggest killer in their country (67% and 65% respectively).

In contrast, Australians and Bulgarians are least likely to believe that lung cancer is the biggest killer in their country (35% and 36% respectively).

In every country, two questions were placed on the Ipsos Omnibus. A nationally representative quota sample for each country of c. 1,000 adults was interviewed between 25 January – 16 May 2010. Two different methodologies were used between the countries: face-to-face in-home interviewing and telephone interviewing using CATI (Computer Aided Telephone Interviewing.) The age of participants interviewed also varies slightly between countries. Details of the methodology used and the age range interviewed across the sixteen countries can be found in the table below.

Data have been weighted to the known adult population profile of each country.